Special Delivery
by serenitysea
Summary: Three words: Helena. Baking. New Year's. Oh, and using meta-abilites in "community areas" of the Clocktower. Huntress winds up shocking the hell out of everyone -- including Reese -- by proving that she CAN do something in the kitchen besides guzzle the f


Special Delivery PG-13 Serenity Sea (Serenity_Sea@yahoo.com)  
  
Author's Notes:  
  
I was baking cookies with my grandmother today and the idea just sort of came to me: What if Helena had one thing she could bake - really bake - and shocked the hell out of everyone with it, including Reese? Of course, there's bound to be a few mishaps on the way.  
  
Set after "Nature of the Beast"  
  
Completed: December 31, 2002  
  
* * * * *  
  
There weren't many things Helena Kyle could do in a kitchen.  
  
In fact, most of the time, she preferred to avoid it like the plague.  
  
Except for today.  
  
New Year's Eve was the only time she set foot in a kitchen and intended to use it for something other than inhaling food.  
  
Because this time. she was going to make food.  
  
* * *  
  
"Barbara? Have you seen my stamp?"  
  
Barbara Gordon, the former Batgirl, and all-knowing Oracle, frowned while looking at her computer screen. "Ah, what stamp would that be, Helena?"  
  
Helena vaulted over the second-floor loft railing and landed expertly on the platform where Oracle housed all of her technology. "The star one I use every year about this time?"  
  
She turned, still frowning. "How many times have I asked you not to do that? Even Dinah knows. Don't use your powers in the community areas of the Clocktower."  
  
"Sor-ry." Helena muttered, glaring at her.  
  
Barbara went back to her work. "And no, I haven't seen your stamp."  
  
There was a whoosh of air behind her and she knew her ward had jumped back up. "Thanks for nothing!"  
  
A few minutes later, Dinah came wandering in the room, clad in sweats and a tank top. "What's going on? I thought I heard Helena cursing in the kitchen and when I tried to go in, she threw a pot at me."  
  
"Helena's. baking."  
  
Her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. "Baking? Isn't that, like, the one thing she can't do - and admits it freely?"  
  
"Yes. And. well, yes."  
  
Dinah looked scared. "I think I'm just going to go over to Cheryl's house to study and maybe come back tom-" Barbara's arm shot out and clamped on to the super-hero in training.  
  
"Oh no. If I have to stay, then so do you. You're not getting out of this one. Besides. You're still grounded."  
  
A skeptical look washed over her face. "For what?"  
  
Barbara shrugged. "I don't know. You just are."  
  
Her eyes narrowed. "Barbara, I didn't do anything." A floppy disk started to rattle on the console next to her.  
  
She reached over and grabbed it. "Stop that." The disk was put down on the other side of her, out of Dinah's view. "I know. But I'm not facing Helena's cooking alone."  
  
* * *  
  
Detective Jesse Reese slapped a manila police file down on his desk and sighed. It was New Year's Eve. He should be home, eating something fattening and drinking a beer, waiting for the ball to drop in Times Square. Instead, he was stuck here, doing paper work because McNally had decided to use the 'injured' clause in his contract; even though the man was well-healed by now, he couldn't exactly demand that he stay at work when the rest of the world was home.  
  
"Unbelievable. How do I get stuck doing this?"  
  
He rubbed a hand over the back of his head and thought of the last time he'd seen Huntress. Lately, it seemed that she was invading his thoughts when he least expected it and it was becoming harder to focus on things like work when she was so much more interesting.  
  
He still didn't know her name. And didn't know if she was ever going to tell him. Maybe she'd just go by that for as long as they knew each other. Maybe that was her name.  
  
He doubted it.  
  
No, she would tell him one of these days. When she was ready. And he would be waiting.  
  
For now, he'd finish up his paperwork, close out for the night and maybe give the ring a squeeze on the way home.  
  
* * *  
  
Dinah decided to brave the storm and see if she could help. Maybe if she did, they wouldn't all die of food poisoning. She turned the corner and nearly ran into Alfred.  
  
"Quite sorry, Miss Dinah. I'm just in a bit of a hurry to get out of Miss Helena's way."  
  
A few colorful curses floated out of the direction he'd come and she nodded sympathetically. "And I'm an idiot walking into the fire," she mumbled under her breath, hoping that another pot wouldn't be thrown at her head.  
  
Alfred smiled at her receding form and shook his head, moving to deliver the towels in his arms to the training room. With both Helena and Dinah training these days, they went through equipment like water.  
  
Dinah's head peered into the kitchen where she saw Helena - or rather, half of Helena - sticking out of the fridge. She walked over to the counter and perched on it, noticing the white hand marks on her friend's black pants. A smile tugged on her lips and she was about to laugh when Helena spoke up.  
  
"I know you're in here. And don't even think about laughing." An arm reached out to close the door and she faced her friend, managing to look indignant even though the flour tracks continued well up the front of her sleeveless shirt.  
  
"So. what are you doing?"  
  
"What does it look like? I'm making cookies."  
  
Dinah scrunched up her nose. "Yeah. That's kinda what I thought. But, um, aren't the ingredients supposed to go in the mix instead of on your clothes?"  
  
Helena looked up from the sugar she was measuring and shot her a deadly glare. "If you're not going to help, then I suggest you leave. otherwise that next pot. will hit your head."  
  
She gulped and slid off the counter. "What can I do?"  
  
"See that white stamp over there?"  
  
Dinah looked in the direction of there and floated the stamp into her hands. "Got it."  
  
"Good." She spoke slowly, directing her attention to mixing the formula into dough. "Can I have it?" Without missing a beat, she held her left palm flat and smiled when the weight of the stamp settled into it. "Thanks."  
  
Dinah watched as her friend took the sugar she'd so carefully measured just moments before and dumped it on a sheet of waxed paper. She then took the stamp and dipped it in with her thumb and index finger. Still holding onto it carefully, she took the stamp and then pressed it down on a perfect- sized dollop of dough. When she lifted it up, she was beaming, and motioned her friend over to see the star imprint on the soon-to-be-cookie.  
  
"When I was younger, my mother would bake these cookies every New Year's Eve. I called them star cookies and she taught me how to make them when she trusted me with the oven."  
  
Something must have shown in Dinah's face because she answered, "I was 12."  
  
Dinah laughed and Helena laughed with her.  
  
"So every year, I make them. sort of as a reminder of her and because it's the only thing I can make without screwing up."  
  
She pressed a few more and then held the stamp out to Dinah. "You wanna try?"  
  
Dinah took the stamp with all the mock-reverence of being in possession of the Holy Grail. She rolled up the dough and then stamped it, pulling it back triumphantly to see-a half-star.  
  
Helena smirked and shrugged her folded arms while she leaned back against the counter. "I guess everyone's not a pro in the kitchen."  
  
The blonde rolled her eyes and handed over the stamp. "Whatever. Who can make a decent cheese omelette and who can't, huh? That's all I've got to say." Helena continued to smirk as she went back to her work and Dinah hastened to change the subject.  
  
"So. That's a lot of dough you've got there. Who are you making them for?"  
  
This time, Helena sent a warning look over the cookie sheet. "You, Barbara, Alfred. maybe my shrink."  
  
"Are you going to have any?"  
  
"I never eat them. Not anymore." She sighed as another perfect star came out. "I already had a few handfuls of dough, anyway."  
  
Feeling mischievous, she asked, "And are you giving any to your boyfriend?"  
  
She had just enough time to duck the handful of dough that was thrown at her head with deadly accuracy.  
  
* * *  
  
(Later. 11:33 in the evening.)  
  
It was like trying to explain quantum physics to a three-year-old. Oracle and Dinah just wouldn't let it go and she was getting aggravated.  
  
"For the last time, he's not my-" Helena jumped off the roof, turned around and almost slammed into Reese. "-boyfriend." She muttered, reaching up and turning the necklace off. It powered down with a satisfying 'click' and her lips curved up in an irresistible smile.  
  
"Huntress. Haven't seen you in a while."  
  
The smile broadened and she opted for the innocent look - toeing the dirt and tucking both hands behind her back with a smile that make even the hardest of criminals think twice. "Well, New Years. You know how it is. Whole lotta bad guys needed to see the light before they could make their resolutions."  
  
Reese folded his arms and pretended to be stern. "You didn't hurt any them, did you?"  
  
Huntress's eyes widened innocently. "Why, Detective! You know me better than that. I would never use-what was it you said? Oh yes-extreme force on a criminal. That would be against the law."  
  
"And we all know how well you play by the rules."  
  
She bit her lip and tried not to smile.  
  
He folded his arms and cocked his head to the side. "So why are you out on such a lovely evening? Just to see the drunks roaming the streets? The finest New Gotham has to offer."  
  
"Something like that." Huntress slipped an arm through his and tugged him along. "Come on, Reese. Let's take a walk."  
  
* * *  
  
"Beautiful night."  
  
"Mmm. My mom used to take me to the tallest building in New Gotham on New Year's Eve and she swore that she saw the ball dropping all the way in Times Square."  
  
He glanced at her sideways. "Did you believe her?"  
  
Her eyebrows drew together and she tilted her head. "It didn't matter. I thought she was the greatest person in the world."  
  
Reese's eyes twinkled as he glanced at their location. "And are we at the tallest building in New Gotham?"  
  
"Second tallest."  
  
"Only the second? What's the first?"  
  
Huntress's eyes darkened. "The Wayne Enterprises building in the center of town." Then the Clocktower.  
  
He seemed to accept her answer and the silence she left open after it, nodding slowly. "You gonna to wait and find out if you can see the ball drop from here?"  
  
A smile grew on her lips as she shook her head. "Nope. It would ruin the tradition. Besides. You've only got another five minutes. I'm going to race home and catch it on television."  
  
He was touched that she had shared this much of her past with him, and knew that she would race across the rooftops to get back to her friends, decking out a few drunks if necessary. "You have a Happy New Year, Huntress."  
  
Before he knew what was happening, she reached up on her toes and dropped a kiss on his lips. It was over before he could react and served the purpose of momentarily stunning him. A hard knock to the jaw would have done the same thing, but she kinda preferred this method. She patted his cheek, grinning, "You too, Reese."  
  
Something clinked on one of the metal viewing stands and he automatically looked in that direction as she jumped off the observation deck and into the night.  
  
He reached down for the small silver box and fingered the note taped to the lid.  
  
Reese-  
  
Thought you might like something for when you see it drop.  
  
--H.  
  
Even if she professed that it didn't matter, it was clear that it did and that she still believed her mother saw it for every year she was alive. The other thing he noticed - and he attributed this to the fact that he was a cop - was the way she signed her name. H.  
  
"I'm reading way too much into this. It's coincidence."  
  
With one hand on the box, the other tugged the lid off and his face broke into a smile when he saw three perfect cookies resting inside. They were white sugar and had a star-imprint on top. There was another note inside.  
  
Don't worry. They're edible.  
  
. I promise.  
  
He inhaled deeply and looked out to the horizon, straining his eyes for the lights he just knew were waiting in the distance. Faintly, he saw a flickering of colors and then he tucked the box under his arm as he got an idea.  
  
He placed a quarter in the view-stand and lowered his eyes to the lenses. The first thing he saw was her, standing on a rooftop in the distance, with a grin and a thumbs up. Then she pointed, once, to her left and jumped out of sight. He followed her direction and zoomed in until he could see the lights more clearly. At the very top, he saw a blazing white ball and smiled.  
  
Then he stood up, drew a cookie out of the box, and turned around. Like she said, he bit into the cookie and was surprised by the flavor. It didn't matter. He knew it was happening, and he'd seen all he needed to for one night.  
  
Behind him, the lights in New Gotham flickered once in tribute as the ball dropped a thousand miles away. Reese descended the stairs, well into his second cookie.  
  
Then he brushed the crumbs off his hands and faded into the night.  
  
But he could have sworn he heard her voice softly: "Happy New Year."  
  
*****  
  
YES!!!! THERE WAS A KISS!!! *melts* REVIEW!!!  
  
I had to do something to take my mind of the second part of "It's All About Trust," and I wrote this up in less than an hour. Not too descriptive, I know, but a little bit of Reese/Helena fluff for those who sorely need it. 


End file.
